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Most support tobacco policy changes that will save lives and tax dollars (The Tennessean)
Apr 5THE TENNESSEAN | By Bill Frist, MD and Matthew Myers As the leading cause of preventable death in Tennessee, tobacco use is shortening the lives of millions of people, affecting the health of children and adding $2.6 billion in health care costs to the state annually. Nearly one in four Tennesseans smoke. Centers for Disease…
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Tennessee Is Home To One Of The Deadliest National Parks In The Nation: Here’s How We Change That (Forbes)
Mar 7FORBES | In Middle Tennessee, we are known for excellence in health care services, music, and economic growth. However, one distinction we would like to relinquish is being home to the national park with the highest number of suicides in the United States. According to an analysis by Outdoor Magazine, the Natchez Trace Parkway is one…
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Virtual Reality Isn’t Just For Gamers Anymore; It Will Change Your Health (Forbes)
Jul 10FORBES | I’ve got one big idea that can change your health. But first some history. Heart transplants were once rare. When I was training to be a heart transplant surgeon at Stanford, at every opportunity I would go to the operating room to observe and study my mentor (and the “father of heart transplantation”) Dr….
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When Regenerative Medicine Changes Everything (Forbes)
Jul 13FORBES | Two weeks ago I led a panel discussion at the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) on medical innovation with my good friends Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), who chairs the Senate Health,Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee, and former Congressman Bart Gordon (D-TN), who previously chaired the House Committee on Science and Technology. We were…
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The Numbers are In: The Case for NashvilleHealth
Nov 15I like to keep an eye on my hometown’s statistics. I love seeing Nashville listed among the nation’s best cities to launch a startup, raise a family and visit for a weekend away. According to some estimates, we gain 80 new Nashvillians each day, transplants from all over, drawn to our welcoming atmosphere and our…
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What PEPFAR’s Numbers Mean for National Security
Nov 9As of last year, PEPFAR supported anti-retroviral treatment for 7.7 million people, mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa, and an astounding 95 percent of at-risk babies were born HIV-free. In 2013, Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the one-millionth baby had been born HIV-free because of PEPFAR-supported prevention of mother-to-child transmission. No nation in history has been…
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The Superbug Fight at your Grocery Store
Nov 2You may have heard statistics about the over-use of prescription drugs, with reports indicating that up to half of all antibiotics prescribed today are used improperly. It’s a huge problem contributing to the rising threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. What you may not have heard, however, is that the majority of drugs used in the U.S. aren’t even taken…
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Podcast: Medicare and Medicaid at 50
Jul 28Fifty years after Medicare and Medicaid were created, healthcare in America is still rapidly evolving. Carefully observing where we’ve been will help inform where we are going, so in today’s special issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Kaiser Family Foundation President and CEO Drew Altman and I look at the Perspectives of Beneficiaries,…
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Why the VA Should Look Toward Proven Health Care Solutions
Aug 19By Bill Frist and Tom Daschle While it is not a secret that the Veteran’s Affairs hospital system has had inefficiencies for many years, the recent spotlight on veterans’ long wait times for basic medical attention has made headlines for good reason. Long wait times are dangerous and extremely costly, resulting in unnecessary emergency room…
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Tennessee at Crossroads: 2013-14 State of Education Report
Jan 27When SCORE was launched in 2009, we identified a “once in a lifetime opportunity” for unprecedented growth in student achievement in Tennessee. In November, we have learned that the efforts of educators, policymakers, and other stakeholders have helped Tennessee become the fastest improving state in the nation – and 2nd overall behind the District of…
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Digitize your own advanced-care plan
Dec 18(The Hill, December 18, 2013) End of life planning is so important. It’s a topic I’ve spoken on frequently. But it’s not just a plan that you need. Your family members must be able to find it when they need it. That’s why free, online tools like the ones My Directives offers are so valuable!…
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End-of-life stories give us impetus to learn
Dec 1(The Tennessean, December 1, 2013) By Sen. Bill Frist, M.D. and Manoj Jain M.D. Authors’ note: This is the final of six parts. We are honored and extremely grateful that so many shared their family stories with us. We have preserved the stories but have changed individuals’ names. Over the past three months, as we…
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Why the U.S. must lead on Disabilities Treaty
Nov 5(Reuters, November 5, 2013 ) By Bill Frist In an HIV clinic in Africa, a man born deaf holds a single sheet of paper with a plus sign. He looks for help, but no one at the clinic speaks sign language. In fact, the staff doesn’t seem interested in helping him at all. He returns…
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End-of-life care plan can ensure wishes are respected
Nov 4(The Tennessean, November 4, 2013) By Sen. Bill Frist, M.D. and Manoj Jain, M.D Fifth of six parts that will appear this fall “I would never have my mother, who has cancer, go through this,” a hospital case manager in her 50s says. “I would never have her be strapped to the bed. Never have a…
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Health care group a guide in time of change
Sep 15(The Tennessean, September 15, 2013) By Larry Van Horn, Ph.d., and Sen. Bill Frist, M.D. October 2014 is a month that our nation has eyed for more than four years. We will take a historic step to revamp our health care system by enrolling millions of Americans in federally mandated health insurance coverage. At the…
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Global Engagement Pays off for U.S.
Aug 17(The Tennessean, August 17, 2013) By Sen. Bill Frist, M.D. and Gov. Phil Bredesen During difficult economic times, there is a tendency for Americans to turn inward, to focus on domestic challenges, especially as this country emerges from a decade defined by two major wars and a crushing financial crisis. Though the urge to withdraw…
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Health care system should focus on easing patients’ lives
Jul 21Over the course of the past century, advances in public health and medical care have led to improvements in life expectancy that our ancestors would not have been able to imagine. Average life expectancy for Americans born in 2013 is approaching 80 years. While we now live longer and typically spend most of these years in good health, many live with advanced and complicated illnesses. Health problems that once caused death are now controllable as chronic conditions. With these chronic conditions comes the risk of chronic illness and chronic symptoms.
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We Must Continue Our Legacy of Saving Lives
Mar 7(Roll Call, March 7, 2013) Now is no time to shy away from our health investments By Bill Frist A decade ago, as I was beginning my time as Senate majority leader, bipartisan consensus in Washington helped launch a new era of progress in global health just when it was sorely needed. Twenty years had…
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How do you want to die?
Sep 11(The Week, Sept 11, 2012) It’s a fraught question, but unless we move beyond caricatured “death panels” and deal with grim realities thoughtfully and responsibly, we’re all in trouble. How do you envision death with dignity? I like to think of being at home in the comforting and supportive environment of family and friends. But…
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What my doctor thinks of Obamacare?
Aug 29(The Week, August 29, 2012) Lawmakers in D.C. may truly be committed to improving America’s health-care system. But according to actual physicians, our leaders are going about it all wrong Want real health reform that is in the interest of you and your family? Don’t make the same mistake that Washington did. In formulating ObamaCare,…
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